New Zealand Herpes Foundation's Groundbreaking Campaign Wins Prestigious Cannes Lions Grand Prix For Good
The New Zealand Herpes Foundation (NZHF) is proud to announce that its pioneering 'Make New Zealand the Best Place in the World to Have Herpes' campaign has been awarded the Lions Health and United Nations Foundation Grand Prix for Good at the 2025Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity – one of the most prestigious awards in global advertising and creative excellence.
The campaign, developed in partnership with Motion Sickness (Auckland) and FINCH (Sydney), represents a paradigm shift in public health communications, demonstrating how bold creative strategies can effectively address sensitive health topics and drive measurable behaviour change within healthcare communities and the broader public.
Launched in October 2024 on Global Herpes Awareness Day, the campaign successfully challenged decades of entrenched stigma surrounding genital herpes – a condition that affects up to 80% of New Zealanders at some point in their lives. Through innovative use of humour, gamification, and celebrity endorsement, the initiative transformed a traditionally taboo medical topic into an accessible national conversation.
The campaign's 'Herpes Destigmatisation Course' featured prominent New Zealand figures including Sir Ashley Bloomfield and Sir Graham Henry delivering evidence-based health education through engaging video content. A Herpes Stigma Index provided real-time global rankings, encouraging community participation and measuring progress against international benchmarks.
Within eight weeks, New Zealand rose from ninth to first place on the global stigma index. The campaign generated exceptional engagement metrics including:
Over 10,700 hours of educational content consumed
12.7 million impressions across social channels
69% of participants reported reduced stigma attitudes
86% felt more comfortable discussing herpes openly
81% expressed motivation to support others with HSV
The campaign's success underscores the critical importance of addressing the substantial gap between medical reality and public perception of HSV. While most people (~80%) will host a Herpes Simplex Virus during their lifetime, only approximately 20% will experience recognisable symptoms. The majority remain undiagnosed because most people who host herpes simplex don't experience symptoms ( ie are asymptomatic ) creating ongoing challenges for clinical management and patient counselling.
'This campaign demonstrates the transformative power of exceptional creative communications in achieving public health outcomes that traditional medical education approaches have struggled to deliver,' said NZHF Trustee Alaina Luxmoore. 'We're immensely proud that our bold approach to destigmatising herpes has resonated not only in New Zealand but globally. The message we're conveying is simple – herpes is a common, manageable virus that doesn't define a person's worth or relationships.
'Winning the Cannes Lions Grand Prix for Good validates our belief that innovative communications can break down barriers that have prevented effective clinical care and patient wellbeing for decades. However, this recognition is just the beginning. While we're officially the best place in the world to have herpes, maintaining this title requires constant education, ongoing destigmatisation efforts, and continued advancement in clinical training on best-practice herpes management and treatment guidelines. We're committed to building on this momentum to ensure healthcare providers and patients alike have access to evidence-based, stigma-free herpes care.'
The campaign's international acclaim extends beyond Cannes Lions, with awards from AdFest 2025 (Gold Lotus – Entertainment), Clio Health 2025 (multiple Gold and Silver awards), D&AD (Wood Pencils), and The One Show (Bronze – Health & Wellness). This recognition highlights the campaign's effectiveness as a model for addressing sensitive health topics through creative communications.
David Ohana, Chief Communications & Marketing Officer at the United Nations Foundation and Cannes Lions jury president, praised the campaign: 'This year's Lions Health Grand Prix for Good unabashedly uses humour to tackle a challenging subject and stigmatisation. Our 2025 awardee took a taboo topic and turned it on its head – showing that with a great strategy, a big, bold crazy idea, and humour for days, that anything is possible.'
The campaign's success provides valuable insights for healthcare professionals addressing HSV in clinical practice. By normalising conversations about herpes and emphasising that HSV-1 and HSV-2 are essentially the same virus managed through identical clinical approaches, the initiative supports more effective patient counselling and care delivery.
For healthcare providers, the campaign reinforces that societal conditioning around herpes requires recalibration. HSV-1 causes approximately 50% of genital herpes cases, often through oral-to-genital contact, yet remains socially acceptable when presenting as oral cold sores while carrying significant stigma in genital presentations.
The Foundation's ongoing work will focus on supporting clinical education initiatives, advancing diagnostic understanding, and promoting evidence-based treatment guidelines. With no definitive diagnostic test available for asymptomatic individuals, the campaign's emphasis on reducing stigma becomes even more critical for effective public health management.
The New Zealand Herpes Foundation is dedicated to providing accurate information, support, and advocacy for individuals affected by Herpes Simplex Virus. Through evidence-based education and innovative communications strategies, NZHF works to eliminate stigma and improve health outcomes for all New Zealanders. This includes running a herpes helpline managed by nurse counsellors. The helpline can be reached on 0508 11 12 13 from a landline or 09 433 6526 from a mobile. For more information on the helpline and NZHF's other services visit: herpes.org.nz.
The 'Make New Zealand the Best Place in the World to Have Herpes' campaign was supported by Sexually Transmitted Infections Education Foundation, Whānau Ora and Sexual Wellbeing Aotearoa.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scoop
2 hours ago
- Scoop
Medsafe Consents Improve Year On Year, Again
Associate Minister of Health Annual performance statistics released today show Medsafe following my direction and approving new medicines faster than last year, which was faster than the year before, and there is more to come with the Rule of Two and AI, Associate Health Minister David Seymour says. 'New Zealanders need a smarter, more efficient government which gets things done, enabling them to live better lives,' Mr Seymour says. 'Faster access to medicines matters to patients. For many New Zealanders, pharmaceuticals are life or death, or the difference between a life of pain and suffering or living freely.' Medsafe completed its evaluation for innovative medicines 59 working days faster than last year. This is on top of the 55 days reduction in 2023/24. Generic medicines decisions were 64 days faster than last year, on top of the 45 days reduction in 2023/24. Medsafe has again met 100% timeframes for over-the-counter medicines, providing certainty for pharmaceutical companies. 'Assessment timeframes for most categories of medicine are now similar to the timeframes required in Australia. We often use compare ourselves to Australia, and in this area we have caught up,' says Mr Seymour. 'The abbreviated pathway is also reducing timeframes. It requires Medsafe to work smarter by leveraging work already done by other overseas regulators. About 50 percent of medicines are assessed like this, and in half the time of the full pathway. 'Medsafe will speed up approval processes further. The Medicines Amendment Bill includes the Rule of Two, which will be in operation by early 2026. The Rule of Two requires Medsafe to approve new pharmaceuticals within 30 days of them being approved by at least two overseas regulatory agencies recognised by New Zealand. 'Last year I wanted Medsafe to find more innovative ways to expedite their approval pathways. One way they have done this is by prioritising new innovative medicines and assessing them under urgency because people need them now. 'Some of these included the Bleriplex medicine for people with blood clotting disorders, the blood cancer medicine Omjjaro, Tyruko for multiple sclerosis, and the Wyost injection for weakened bones due to cancer. For Omjjaro, this meant it was able to be approved 131 days faster than the average time last year for new innovative medicines. 'Earlier this year I wrote to Medsafe asking them to find ways that AI could help the process new medicines faster. This is something that they have welcomed and recognise could reduce assessment times. I look forward to working with Medsafe as they explore this. 'We're committed to ensuring that the regulatory system for pharmaceuticals is not unreasonably holding back access. We want it to lead to more Kiwis being able to access the medicines they need to live a fulfilling life, not less.'
Scoop
7 hours ago
- Scoop
Cancer, Measles And Allergic Disease Research Funded In Latest HRC Grants Round
Press Release – Malaghan Institute of Medical Research Director Professor Kjesten Wiig says receiving three major grants from the Health Research Council at a time of heightened funding constraints is significant and recognises the calibre and relevance of the Malaghan Institutes science. The Malaghan Institute has been awarded three Health Research Council grants, totalling $7.4M over five years, to improve cancer immunotherapies, protect vulnerable populations from measles outbreaks and investigate new therapeutic targets for eczema. Director Professor Kjesten Wiig says receiving three major grants from the Health Research Council at a time of heightened funding constraints is significant and recognises the calibre and relevance of the Malaghan Institute's science. 'These investments not only reflect confidence in the Malaghan's research across cancer, allergic and infectious diseases, but also the real-world impact of our work on the health of New Zealanders.' Faster CARs: Overcoming exhaustion to enhance cancer immunotherapies Building on the Malaghan Institute's ground-breaking CAR T-cell programme, the Perret team in the Weinkove Laboratory has recieved a $1.2 million project grant over three years to improve on this life-saving treatment. 'In Aotearoa's first CAR T-cell trial, our novel CAR T-cell therapy has shown promising safety and efficacy in people with relapsed lymphomas,' says Dr Rachel Perret. 'However, a known limitation of CAR T-cell therapies is that in some cases, cancers fail to respond, or relapse. This may be due to exhaustion of CAR T-cells during manufacture or inside the patient, due to a immunosuppressive environment around the tumour.' Cells, like people, can become exhausted if overworked or overstimulated, becoming less and less able to perform. However, unlike people, CAR T-cells can be tweaked to block the genes that signal this exhaustion, allowing them to continue fighting cancer for longer – which should also improve patient outcomes. 'This project will re-engineer CAR T-cells to silence genes linked to exhaustion and re-develop CAR T-cell manufacturing processes to enhance CAR T- cell fitness and shorten manufacturing times,' says Dr Perret. 'We expect the results to be applicable to many cancer types, and to be readily translated for the benefit of New Zealanders within our CAR T-cell clinical trial programme.' Providing equal protection for everyone against measles Herd immunity is how we as a population protect those who are immunocompromised or otherwise unable to get vaccinated (such as very young infants) against potentially life-threatening viruses like measles. When enough of the population are vaccinated (over 95% in the case of measles), this herd immunity effectively prevents viruses from spreading to our most vulnerable whānau. 'While the current measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine is highly effective at protecting vaccinated individuals against these viruses, current vaccination rates are not high enough to provide this essential herd immunity to protect those who cannot be vaccinated,' says paediatric immunologist Dr Kuang Hsiao from Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland, who is part of the research team. The MMR vaccine cannot be used in people with severely impaired immune systems and is not recommended in pregnant people. Also, MMR is less effective in infants, so is not routinely recommended before 12 months of age. In addition, Māori and Pacific communities are overrepresented among these vulnerable groups. For these populations, alternate protective options are required to prevent a measles outbreak. 'Evidence has shown that mRNA-based vaccines can be effective in these vulnerable individuals,' says the Malaghan's Professor Ian Hermans. 'With an international team involving clinicians, immunologists and Māori and Pacific researchers, we will develop an mRNA-based measles vaccine to give to vulnerable individuals in the event of an outbreak.' The research has been awarded an HRC Programme Grant, worth $5M over five years, and will bring together multiple organisations including the Malaghan, representing diverse areas of expertise and combining both fundamental research and public health. 'As part of this work, we will explore with Māori and Pacific communities' perceptions and beliefs about mRNA-based vaccines to support equitable access to the vaccine,' says Dr Hermans. Investigating novel treatment targets for atopic dermatitis Atopic dermatitis, or eczema, is a chronic skin allergic disease that affects a significant proportion of New Zealand's population. The disease can have a significant negative impact on a person's livelihood with symptoms varying from persistent itchiness, redness, dryness and inflammation. Current treatment options are largely immunosuppressants such as corticosteroids, which can cause side effects. While these treatments can help manage symptoms there are currently no effective therapies to prevent the disease from developing and relapsing. At the cellular level, one hallmark of atopic dermatitis is the chronic infiltration and persistence of immune cells called tissue resident memory T-cells. Normally, these cells are vital for protecting the skin from invading pathogens, but for individuals with atopic dermatitis these cells also contribute to the disease by promoting recurring inflammation even after the allergen has been cleared from the skin. The project, which has been awarded $1.2 million over three years, will be led by Dr Sotaro Ochiai, a Senior Research Fellow in the Ronchese Laboratory. The team will focus on better understanding these tissue resident memory T-cells identifying key genes and biological pathways that are essential for the establishment and maintenance of these cells in the skin. 'By understanding these mechanisms, we aim to identify new therapeutic targets to disrupt tissue resident memory T-cell survival or function and improve quality of life for those affected by this persistent and distressing condition,' says Dr Ochiai.
Scoop
2 days ago
- Scoop
Faster, More Accurate Brain Tumour Diagnoses For Kiwis
Minister of Health More than 100 New Zealanders have already benefited from a groundbreaking diagnostic tool that is delivering faster, more accurate brain tumour diagnoses, Health Minister Simeon Brown says. DNA methylation profiling, the international gold standard for diagnosing brain tumours, has been rolled out at Auckland City Hospital over the past year. 'This technology is a game-changer for brain tumour diagnosis in New Zealand. It enables doctors to pinpoint the exact tumour type with greater precision and in less time, meaning patients can start the right treatment sooner,' Mr Brown says. 'Until now, diagnosis was typically made by microscopic examination. In some complex cases, samples were sent overseas for methylation profiling, but that could take up to six weeks. 'Having this cutting-edge capability in New Zealand means more Kiwi patients can access this advanced diagnostic technology locally. Turnaround times are faster, around four weeks, and quicker for urgent cases. 'It also means we can prioritise urgent cases, deliver answers sooner, and give patients and their families greater certainty.' In some recent cases done locally, methylation profiling has significantly altered the initial diagnosis. In others, it has identified rare or unexpected tumour types that may have been missed using traditional methods. The Auckland-based service is one of only three in Australasia, with samples from hospitals around the country also being sent to Auckland for analysis. Along with improving access and outcomes for patients, it is also significantly cheaper than sending samples offshore. 'Delivering faster access to cancer treatment is a key focus for the Government, which is why it is one of our five national health targets. Faster, more accurate diagnosis for brain tumours that may be cancerous is a vital part of that. 'By providing local access to the world's best diagnostic tools, we are improving outcomes for New Zealanders,' Mr Brown says.
